Roberts opens Bethany Beach studio, Beach Pilates

Coastal Point • Tripp Colonell: Kelly Roberts celebrated the opening of Beach Pilates with a ribbon cutting on Thursday, June 19. The studio will serve as more than just a place to learn and do Pilates, Roberts teaches about all kinds of health related subjects.Kelly Roberts is a certified Pilates instructor, yoga instructor, holistic health coach, raw-food chef, Master Gardener, author of two cookbooks and a novel about Tuscan culture, history and cuisine, and a food and fitness blogger — among other things. Needless to say, she knows what she’s doing when it comes to all things holistic.

After spending the last few years traveling around the area for appointments with clients, and being jokingly referred to as “Gypsy Rose” by her husband, Roberts finally opened her own studio to incorporate all of those concepts on April 1, right off Route 1 in Bethany Beach.

“I was traveling constantly,” she explained. “Everybody was so excited when I was like, ‘Well, I’m gonna finally open my own place.’ The town’s super excited, so I’m excited.”

“I’ve been looking for a Pilates instructor for some time. I used to have a great one in D.C., and now I found one [here],” said enthusiastic client Sheryl Swed. “I’m so pleased that Kelly, who is an excellent instructor, is here, and she can serve this whole area.”

The studio may be called Beach Pilates, but it offers significantly more than Pilates — from different kinds of yoga to ballet barre classes, springboard, nutrition counseling, grocery-store tours, raw-food demos and even guest speakers.

“We go through the grocery store, learn how to read the back of a box, learn what’s processed, what’s not, what you’re really getting out of it, how much sugar you’re really consuming,” Roberts said of the typically 75-minute learning session at the store. “It’s really kind of breaking down the marketing that the marketing companies have figured out.”

Roberts recommends Pilates not only to anyone looking to get in better shape or live a healthier lifestyle, but to those who are rehabilitating from injury or suffering from a chronic illness — and she can do so from personal experience.

It was in her mid-20s that Roberts got her start in Pilates, after a serious car accident that left her with a degenerating disk in her neck. After seeing chiropractors to help resolve the issue, to no avail, her mother suggested she try Pilates.

“My mom was actually a Pilates instructor. She’s been doing it since the ’70s. She told me to take a Pilates class,” she recalled. “It was the only thing that made me feel that much better.”

After learning from her mother at her Salisbury, Md.-based studio, Roberts eventually went on to get her own certification and taught there for eight years. She then began teaching her own classes on the beach, which she has been doing for the past five years.

“Pilates is really rehabilitation,” she noted. “It was designed for resistance and assistance training, so it teaches you how to prevent injuries and how to rehabilitate.”

Roberts said that not only is Pilates designed to rehabilitate and prevent, but it can also help improve performance in sports including surfing and golf — where core strength is necessary.

“It’s perfect for a surfer, because you’re building your core strength,” she explained. “I even have Pilates for golfers, if they want to improve their swing. You’re focusing on your core, so you’re powering through your swing using your core instead of using your arms. Everything initiates from your core — your strength, your balance, your coordination.”

The studio also offers a wide variety of products that can’t be found in most stores, ranging from local, organic health supplements to locally-made jewelry, some organic yoga and Pilates clothing and Roberts’ raw-food cookbooks.

“One’s summer/spring. The other one’s winter and fall,” she said of her cookbooks. “They’re my recipes that I made up as a raw chef. Anything holistic, you’re pretty much going to be able to find it here.”

Roberts said that whether someone is new to making healthy lifestyle choices or has been doing Pilates and eating right for years, or is looking to shed a few pounds or recover from an injury, or just interested in learning a few new skills — Beach Pilates has something for everyone.

“It’s pretty much just how to change your lifestyle for the better,” said Roberts. “Everything from physical to mental and emotional — Pilates is a mind-body connection, so you’re using that whole mental process to focus on your inner self and better your lifestyle.”

To find out more about Beach Pilates and Kelly Roberts or to sign up for a class, visit the studio’s website at www.beachpilatesandwellness.com, call (302) 542-6521 or visit the studio at 33230 Coastal Highway, Suite #1, in Bethany Beach. You can also find Beach Pilates on Facebook at facebook.com/beachpilatesandwellness.